Who is Menaka Guruswamy? She could become the country's first LGBTQ MP, nominated by the TMC for the Rajya Sabha elections.:TMC nominated Maneka Guruswamy for the Rajya Sabha elections.

News Topical, Digital Desk : The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has nominated senior advocate Maneka Guruswamy for the Rajya Sabha elections to be held on March 16.

Apart from Guruswamy, TMC has fielded minister Babul Supriyo, former Bengal DGP Rajeev Kumar and actor Koel Mallick as candidates.

If TMC candidate and senior advocate Maneka Guruswamy wins the Rajya Sabha elections, she can become the country's first LGBTQ Rajya Sabha member.

Who is Menaka Guruswamy?

Menaka Guruswamy is a senior advocate at the Supreme Court. She argued the landmark constitutional case that resulted in the decriminalization of homosexuality in India, with the repeal of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code in 2018.

Menaka Guruswamy learned to work under Ashok Desai, the former Attorney General of India, in 1997. She considers him her mentor. She is featured in Kiran Manral's book, "Rising: 30 Women Who Changed India."

Menaka Guruswamy worked with former Attorney General Ashok Desai, primarily on litigation and constitutional matters. After about a year and a half of hands-on learning, Menaka went to Oxford for further studies.

Graduation from Oxford and Masters from Harvard

Menaka Guruswamy completed her Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL) from Oxford and Master of Laws (LLM) from Harvard in 2001. She then worked briefly as an associate at Davis Polk & Wardwell in New York.

Guruswamy's portrait is displayed in Milner Hall, Rhodes House, Oxford University, making her the first Indian and only the second woman in the world to receive this honour.

Guruswamy returned to India after completing her studies and settled in New Delhi. Menaka Guruswamy was included in Foreign Policy magazine's 2019 list of the 100 Most Influential Global Thinkers. She was also included in Time magazine's 2019 list of the 100 Most Influential People.

Maneka Guruswamy's connection with TMC

Maneka Guruswamy had recently represented the TMC in the court proceedings challenging the Enforcement Directorate (ED) search at the I-PAC office.

The TMC has now nominated Maneka Goswami as its candidate for the Rajya Sabha elections. If she wins, she will become the first LGBTQ Rajya Sabha MP.

Who is Menaka Guruswamy? She could become the country's first LGBTQ MP, nominated by the TMC for the Rajya Sabha elections.